Main menu

As a postdoc raking in $37,000 a year, Michael White is not, according to the IRS, actually employed by the university where he works or by the government whose grants fund the lab, he writes on his blog. But neither is he self-employed nor a student — not that it matters, since he only receives a stipend. That all means, says White, he loses out on certain tax benefits, such as paying insurance premiums from pre-tax dollars.